


i was there when you fell from the clouds

by ohcinnamon



Series: the fallen - winged!fob au [2]
Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy
Genre: Gen, aka this weird stranger is laying in the middle of the desert and andy thinks maybe he should help, the story of pete's Falling, winged!fob
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-23 20:51:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12516304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohcinnamon/pseuds/ohcinnamon
Summary: “Where...where am I?” The man rasps, drawing his tongue over dry, cracked lips.Andy furrows his eyebrows, leaning in closer to him. “You...you don’t know?”The mysterious man shakes his head. “No — one second I was in the air, and now I’m...here.”It dawns on Andy all of a sudden that he’s going to have to be the one to explain, and the memory of his own Falling crashes over him all at once. “You’ve never left The Ethereal before, have you?”





	i was there when you fell from the clouds

**Author's Note:**

> just a reminder that these oneshots/fics are NOT in chronological order. however, i will be posting the date at the top of every part so that you can get a general idea of when these events are occurring.
> 
>  **important:** if you actually want to understand this fic and its' circumstances, read [this post.](http://trohmenace.tumblr.com/post/163933751212/wingedfob-au) it explains everything from how feather colors work to different headcanons. as always, thanks for reading, and i hope you enjoy.
> 
> (title from "american money" by børns)

_September 2003 —_

 

Pete falls from the sky the way the rest of them do. His wings lock, his vision goes black, and he plummets.

 

—

 

Andy is the one who finds him.

Why is he out in the desert in the middle of September? He doesn’t know. It’s probably a mix of factors — Joe wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, he can’t resist Patrick’s pouty face, et cetera. Either way, he’s still out in the middle of the fucking desert, it’s hot as shit, and as bad as he wants to go for a run to clear his head, it’s WAY too hot to do anything other than walk right now. Fuck the heat. He misses Chicago.

However, the one redeeming thing about deserts, Andy has found, is that the sunsets are so bright and vivid that it looks like the sky is on fire. And that’s pretty badass. That, along with the way the sun sparkles on his translucent wings, almost makes the sudden Grand Canyon roadtrip worth it.

The strange golden glow of the setting sun and the angle of the shadows being cast almost keep him from investigating the dark form he sees about half a mile out. He squints behind his glasses, rubbing a sleeve over them to clean off the dirt so that he can see better. That’s not just anything, that’s a...person, out there. And not just a person; this person has wings, just like him. _What are the fucking odds?_

He takes off into a sprint, ignoring the way the heat still hangs thick and heavy in the air, burning his lungs. If this person has Fallen, they need _help,_ and as soon as possible _._ They could be hurt.

Feathers litter the ground between him and the stranger, and the way the dirt has been thrown around like the rings around an impact site confirms his suspicions. The middle of the desert is a weird place to Fall, but he’s heard of worse places to be. Besides, maybe it’s Fate working her magic — this person could’ve Fallen anywhere in the world, and he just so happened to land near someone else of his kind. That’s better than nothing, at least.

Upon reaching the stranger at last, Andy is finally able to get a better look at him. “Whoa,” he murmurs, folding his own wings in to take a better look at the stranger. He’s laying in a heap of dark, heavy feathers, his wings folded underneath him in such an unnatural way that it’s painful to look at. Andy kneels down next to him, squinting to make out his features through the mess of dirt and blood caking to his skin. He’s got shaggy black hair hanging in his eyes, face drawn up in an expression of pain behind his bangs. He reaches out to touch the man’s shoulder, just to see if he’s conscious, because —

— he startles awake suddenly, jerking back from Andy’s touch, breathing like he’s just ran a marathon. Andy raises both of his hands, showing him that he’s not going to hurt him, and scoots back just a bit to give him space.

“Where...where am I?” The man rasps, drawing his tongue over dry, cracked lips.

Andy furrows his eyebrows, leaning in closer to him. “You...you don’t know?”

The mysterious man shakes his head. “No — one second I was in the air, and now I’m...here.”

It dawns on Andy all of a sudden that he’s going to have to be the one to explain, and the memory of his own Falling crashes over him all at once. “You’ve never left The Ethereal before, have you?”

He reels back, face drawn up in confusion. “What do you mean by The Ethereal?”

It hits Andy right in the chest, because _fuck_ , he’s gonna have to be the one to break the bad news, and he hates this kind of thing. “So that’s a no.”

“Where am I?” The stranger repeats, eyes widening in shock. “Please, you have to help me. I don’t know where I am — I have to get home.”

That rips Andy’s heart right down the middle, and he shakes his head sadly. “You’re...not in our home world, buddy — er, where we’re from, anyway. I don’t think there will be any going home. This is Earth, the human realm.”

“Earth?” The man repeats, dumbfounded, his eyes glazing over with sadness. “So, you mean that I —”

“You’ve Fallen,” Andy confirms, smiling sadly. “But it’s not the worst thing in the world. It’s not too bad at all, really. You’ll get used to it here.”

“I can’t go home,” The stranger says numbly, squeezing his eyes shut. He looks like he’s just lost everything — which, Andy realizes at that moment, he pretty much has. “This...this isn’t a dream?”

“I’m afraid not,” Andy sighs sadly, his heart sinking. “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear. I’m sorry.”

The stranger nods slowly, seemingly accepting his fate, at least for now. “I guess there’s really nothing that can be done about it, then. I might as well get on with it.”

“My name’s Andy,” the redhead says, running his fingers gingerly over the man’s dark, sleek feathers. “Are you hurt too badly?”

He shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so, though I’m sure I’ll be feeling it tomorrow. My name’s Pete. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You’re lucky I found you,” Andy sends him a half-smile, resting a hand on his shoulder gently. “My friends and I usually live in Chicago, but we’re out here for the week. We can take you back with us, if you want.”

The man cocks his head to the side, looking very much like a confused puppy, and asks, “what’s Chicago?”

Andy smiles, helping him to his feet. Pete is going to become part of their little family, he’s decided, if only for a little while, at least. “That’s the city where my friends and I live. Come on, I can show you maps and pictures as soon as we get back to the hotel. I have a feeling that the boys would really like to meet you.”

 

—

 

Back at the hotel, Pete is taking in his surroundings with two parts curiosity and one part apprehension. A small, sweet guy named Patrick is doing his best to clean him up, while Andy looks through their things to set out some clothes that might fit Pete. The lanky boy with the monstrous curls, Joe, however, has decided to conduct some research of his own. Pete does his best to answer his questions earnestly, taking it all in stride.

“This is really your first day in the human world?” Joe asks, eyes wide with curiosity. Andy swats at him subconsciously, trying to remind him to be considerate of Pete’s feelings, but Pete isn’t really too hurt by it.

“Yeah. I’m glad Andy was there, or I don’t think I would have taken it as well,” Pete admits, shrugging slightly. “This is all new to me. I don’t really know what I’m doing yet.”

Patrick sends him an encouraging smile. “Well, you’re definitely taking it a lot better than I did, so there’s something to be said about that.”

“Patrick, don’t forget that you were a lot younger than Pete when you Fell,” Andy reminds him, coming to his defense. “And you’re allowed to be emotional. It’s not something to be ashamed about.”

Pete smiles, admiring Andy’s protective tendencies. He feels like he’ll probably fit in well here. “How old were you guys when you Fell?”

“I Fell when I was twelve,” Joe supplies, shrugging slightly. “I don’t really remember much about home — er, well, _your_ home, The Ethereal, that is. This is home to me now, has been for a while.”

Pete turns his gaze to Patrick, who is now gingerly tending to a cut on his shin that he can already tell is gonna sting like hell later — still, he’s doing his best, so Pete is grateful. He nudges him slightly, raising his eyebrows as if to ask him without words. Thankfully, Patrick gets what he’s trying to do right away.

“Sixteen,” Patrick says shyly, looking up at him with a small half-smile. “A little over two years ago. I fell into Joe and Andy’s backyard, lucky for me.”

“So you guys have lived together for a while?” Pete asks, turning to Andy. “You and Joe, I mean, even before Patrick came along?”

“I Fell on the same day as Joe, actually, which is pretty rare — especially two of us Falling in the same place,” Andy says, sending a smile in Pete’s direction. “June 8th, 1997. I remember it like it was yesterday. I’d just turned seventeen, like a week before, and suddenly I was stuck taking care of a twelve year old kid.”

“Almost thirteen!” Joe exclaims defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. “Really, he makes me sound so young every time he tells this story.”

“I can’t help that that’s what your _actual age was_ _,_ Joe,” Andy retorts, swiftly ducking under a messy punch like he’s done this a million times; Pete realizes that he probably has.

“We celebrated my thirteenth birthday in a gas station, remember?” Joe laughs, eyes sparkling. “You bought me a bunch of those Little Debbie cakes and the biggest Icee they had.”

Pete’s eyes go wide. “Icee? What’s that? I don’t think we had those back home.”

“Let’s get Icees!” Joe exclaims, pumping both fists in the air, and Patrick just chuckles softly.

“We’re gonna give Pete an information overload,” Patrick says, grinning at Joe’s faux-crestfallen expression. “Tomorrow for sure, though. Icees make everything better.”

The other boys share a look at that, and a small smile graces Andy’s lips before he nods. “Pete, I know this is probably hard for you right now, but I think you’re gonna like it here on Earth. We’ll take care of you now.”

 _They’ll take care of me_ _,_ Pete thinks, allowing himself a small smile. This is his life now, whether he likes it or not. This is his home.


End file.
